A variety of medical scanners is used to generate clinical images. The scanned images include anatomical features such as organs, tissues, blood vessels, and other components of human anatomy. Such medical scanners include, x-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Radiologists and physicians analyze scanned images for diagnosis and treatment.
Scanned images using a medical scanner consist of two-dimensional (2D) slices. A medical imaging device is used to generate three-dimensional (3D) volume data of human anatomy from a series of 2D slices obtained from a medical scanner. The 3D volume data provides more intuitive and useful information of a patient's anatomy. An imaging tool or imaging software provides intuitive means to navigate through the tortuous and complex human anatomy. The imaging tool can show cross-sectional views of the 3D volume data from various angles and positions and virtually dissect or selectively view an area of interest via image processing on the 3D volume data.
Medical knowledge is very complex and scattered in various subjects in textbooks. Medical students (e.g., medical, dental, nursing, physiotherapy) require years of practice and experience to apply their knowledge on clinical cases. One of the main challenges for medical students is the process of linking all the knowledge that they have gained from their studies and applying it to specific cases. Typically, learning in a medical college is done in several subjects such as anatomy, pathology, microbiology and pharmacology. Each student has to mentally put the learned information together to get from diagnosis of a problem to the treatment and case management.
Knowledge of the human anatomy is very important to clinicians and medical students. Learn human anatomy from a life-sized model or a cadaver is expensive, and is not a viable option in some countries due to religious reasons.